converting 1.8 open diff to LSD?
 

I got a 1991 1.6L sportin the stock 4.30 VLSD rear. this past Saturday the pinion gear sheared 3 teeth off!! SWEET! I,ve been waiting to blow this one to build a more suitable race diff. it seems the concensus is to swap a 1.8 rear. so my question is..... whats involved in converting an open diff to an LSD? I may be able to pick up a 4.30 open diff out a 1.8L car for cheap. Is it even worth it? no matter what I end up using, I'm planning on putting a high performance LSD (possibly the OS giken. still have more research to do before i decide). Thanks

toss in a torsen, os giken, obx, cusco, kaaz, etc diff.

hahah sooo im guessing the case & internal structure is the same? i can just put an lsd in an open diff and call it a day?

Search!
You will need the complete diff (housing and 3rd member), axles and driveshaft to do the swap. I am about to do it myself. I have had all the parts for 2 years now and finally granaded the 1.6 diff last week.

you'd separate the carrier from the pinion housing and pull the open diff out, then bolt on the ringgear to the torsen or alike, then bolt it back together and take it to a transmission (et al) shop and have them set the backlash. then bolt the carrier back on and install.


search the OBX torsen thread.

sweet thanks for the info.. now to see what i can source..and afford

Just picked up an open diff. out of a 2005 with about 15k miles on it. now i need some axles a driveshaft. I'll probably drive it like that for the time being untill I have the $$ saved for a "real" LSD unit.

aight got my diff back to the shop, looking for axles now, do the 99-05 axles fit into stock 1990-93 wheel hubs? or do i need to change the spindles?

no, you simply need the axels, i just dropped a 2001 in my 90' and axels fitted #1

They do fit, as do the '94-'97 axles which will also work with your new diff (assuming it didn't come out of an MSM, in which case only MSM axles will work with it.)

If it all possible, however, try to find a set of axles with the hubs still attached. You'll need to do a bit of light dremeling to make your 1.6-style brake calipers fit through the dust shields, however it will save you the potential agony of trying to separate your current axles from the hubs to which they have been fitted for the past twenty years.

In some cases, parting the hubs from the axles seems to be no problem at all. A few light taps and they just fall right out. In other cases, the hubs and axles seem to be bound together with The Force, and nary shall the two be cleft in twain.

but I thought the 94-97 rears used the stub shafts? i guess not? is there an advantage of using one series axle over another (94-97/99-2005) thanks

Why not just get new hubs (And bearings) if one is going to do all that work, Joe? New hubs are ~$20 each at Rockauto.

one last question.... well maybe not the last buuutt are there different axles for open/ lsd diffs on the 1.8L rear? like in the 1.6L VLSD, has 2 different length stub shafts?

--BoBBy

94-95 used stub shafts. 96-05 were one piece